Friday, December 27, 2013

Post Square 12.26.13 ~ His Gypsy Redneck

Post Square 12.26.13 ~ His Gypsy Redneck

Her husband calls her his “gypsy redneck”. Country singer
Kellie Pickler, following in the footsteps of Dinah
Shore in Normandy,
Marilyn Monroe in Korea and
Raquel Welch in Vietnam,
travels to entertain the U.S.
troops. On her 7th USO tour, the pretty, blonde star told her
smitten audience in Afghanistan’s
Kandahar
province there was no place she’d rather spend Christmas.

Clad in camouflage leggings and sparkling boots, the
27-year-old former “American Idol” finalist sang love songs, joked with the
soldiers and assured them America
was grateful for the sacrifices they had made. Pickler also visited the wounded
and fired a howitzer during her stay. She had brought her license to carry a
concealed weapon to Kandahar,
just in case.

U.S.
troops have spent the past 13 Christmases in Afghanistan. For many, this is
likely to be their last. The long war there is coming to a close and soldiers are
being withdrawn. However, those in uniform are still fighting, and dying, in
continued deployments, even as their bases are being dismantled around them.

The drawing ~ I repeated the technique from yesterday,
starting with a charcoal line and letting the black smear into the colored pencil. I
like this effect. I think it gives the drawing body and interest. The detail is
from the Post’s cover photo of Kellie Pickler kneeling down in front of the
makeshift stage, signing autographs for the troops. This is a section that
includes her camouflage tights and rhinestone boots. The drawing is 5"square.